SERMON  ON  OF^'KNOES 


SUITED  TO  THE  TIMES; 

\Nr)  RECOMMENDED  TO  THE  CAREFUL  PERUSAL  OF  ALL  SIJCU  A- 
ATTEND  METHODIST  WORSHIP  IN  THE  BOUNDS  OF  THE  SALIS- 
UlIRY  DISTRICT  OF  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  CONFERENCE 
H     THE    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,  SOIITIf, 


ey  REV.  S.  ».  IJUMPASS. 


lieve  not  cvory  spirit,  Imt  fri/  llie  spirits  whctlicr  iii 


i  UL  i.\S[50R0T  (.  li  . 

\ 

[  i.ilNTIi:    i:  V-    SWAfM    ANI»    SIT  KT^  "^m*  ft"/ 


I 

1 


A  SERMON  ON  OFFENCES. 


*'  VVos  unto  the  world  because  of  offences  !  for  it  must  needa  be  that 
offences  come,  but  woe  to  lh»ittnan  by  whom  the  offence  cometh 

Matt,  xviii.  7. 

The  occasion  of  this  text  was  a  contention  among  the  dis- 
ciples of  our  blessed  Saviour,  which  of  them  should  be  great- 
er in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  In  common  with  the  rest  of 
th^ir  countrymep,  they  had  fallen  into  a  radical  error  respec- 
ting the  character  of  this  kingdom.  Supposing  that  it  would 
embrace  the  state  as  well  as  the  church,  and  associating  with 
it  such  ideas  of  preferment  and  honor  as  they  had  learned  from 
hnman  governments,  they  had  almost  necessarily  imbibed 
(hat  spirit  o^  ambition  which  influence  worldly  aspirants. 
These  mistaicen  views  and  feelings  led,  by  natural  conse- 
<r['uence,  to  that  unprofitable  contention  on  their  way  to 
Capernaum,  which  the  Saviour  found  it  necessary  to  reprove. 
On  reaching  the  house,  he  inquired  what  it  was  they  had  dis- 
puted among  themselves  by  the  way.'*'  Being  convicted  in 
their  hearts  'by  this  inquiry,  and  probably  too,  filled  with 
amazement  at  the  wonderful  knowledge  of  their  master,  they 
"held  their  peace."  The  Saviour  continued,  "if  any  man 
desire  to  be  first,  the  same  shall  be  last  of  all,  and  servant  of 
all."  Not  feeling  fully  satisfied  with  this,  they  asked  him 
plainly,  "wIk)  is  the  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven?" 
They  could  have  had  no  idea  that  this  dignity  had  already 
'been  conferred  on  Peter,  when  on  a  former  occasion,  the 
Saviour  had  promised  him  the  keys  of  this  kingdom;  nor  did 
he  make  the  slightest  allusion  to  any  such  purpose.  Instead 
of  this,  "he  called  a  little  child  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of 
them,"  and  assured  them  that  except  they  should  be  conver- 
ted from  theia*  present  erroneous  views  and  feelings,  they 
could  not  eve-n  enter  into  ttiis  kingdom.  About  this  time  the 
reproof  becamd  so  distressing  that  John  sought  to  divert  his 

*To  36^  Ihe  connection  ijivcii  in  Ihcac  introductory  remarks,  compa* 
'lie  context  with  Mark  ix.  'S3,        and  Luke  ix,  46,  &.c. 


1 


utteiitiou  by  calliing  il  to  another  subject .  Okiaster,  wc  saw 
one  casting  out  devils  in  thy  name,  and  we  forbade  him,  be- 
cause lie  followed  not  us  — ^justsuch  bigotry  as  may  a'lways 
be  expected  from  unconverted  disciples  and  worldly  minded 
priests. — The  Saviour  condemned  this  also  :  "  Forbid  him 
not :  for  he  that  is  not  against  us  is  for  ns  and  then  firm  to 
his  purpose,  he  brought  them  back  to  the  original  subject. 
Transferring  their  thoughts  from  this  significant  embiem, 
the  httle  child  in  their  midst,  to  the  child  of  grace  who  should 
be  converted  from  worldly  ambition,  pride,  and  covetousncss^ 
by  the  spirit  of  the  living  God,  and  become  humble,  sincere, 
and  teachable,'likc  a  little  child,  he  gave  a  more  direct  answer 
to  the  inquiry  of  his  disciples,  by  assuring  them  that  such 
characters  as  these  little  ones  stand  so  very  high  in  favor  at 
the  court  of  glory,  that  their  angels  do  always  behold  the  face 
of  his  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  Asa  still  further  proof  af 
Christ's  intense  love  for  his  "liule  ones,''  he  assures  his  mis- 
taken disciples  that  all  offenders  or  siumbling-blocks,  such  as 
tliey  were  likely  \o  become  unless  speedily  coiiverted,  should 
be  visited  with  the  heaviest  woes.  "And  whosocvir  shall 
olfend  one  of  these  little  ones  that  believe  in  me,  it  wore  bet- 
ter for  him  that  a  mill-stone  were  hanged  about  his  neck,  and 
he  were  cast  into  the  sea. — Woe  unto  the  world,"  &c. 
And  we  are  persuaded  that  an  explication  and  faithful  appli- 
cation  of  this  last  verse  will  save  the  present  generation  of 
God's  children  from  delusions  and  dangers  greater  than  those 
into  w\iich  the  disciples  had  fallen. 

1.  The  term  "  offence,"^  upon  the  sense  of  which  the  force 
of  this  text  very  mucii  depends,  is  liable  to  be  misunderstood. 
It  commonly  means  something  disagreeable,  calculated  to  dis- 
gust or  insult ;  here  it  means  just  the  contrary,  something  quite 
agreeable^but  which  is  calculated  to  deceive, mislead, and  ruin. 
The  primitive  meaning  of  the  original  is  a  trap,  or  rather  the 
trigger  of  a  trap  to  which  the  bait  is  tied;  and  when  touched, 
It  gives  way  so  as  to  let  the  trap  fall  or  the  spring  iJy  and  take 

^Perhaps  liie  word  scandal  would  conic  as  near  cxpicasinj;;  ilit;  i'oll 
force  of  the<4rcek  [skandalon]  as  aiiv  other  tcnn,  but  cincc  this  loo  it 
often  u?c(l  in  ar.other  hense,  we  prcter  the  term  employed  by  the  Uansia- 


•5 


ttio  aiiiiiic  1  Lliedu.    Hence  by  metonymy  it  means  a 

stumbling-block,  a  stratagem.  An  olTence,  then,  is  a  moral 
trap,  baited  for  the  taste,  and  suited  to  the  capture  of  mortals, 
a  stumbling-block  roiled  in  their  way,  a  strato gem  calculated 
io  deceive  and  ruin  them. 

As  the  skilful  hunter  has  many  kinds  and  sizes  of  traps, 
hooks,  and  nets,  for  all  kinds  and  sizes  of  animals — from  the 
tiiiy  mouse  to  the  roaring  king  of  the  forest,  from  the  little 
mumow  that  plays  m  the  mountain  brook  to  the  leviathan  of 
the  great  deep, from  the  sparrow  that  chirps  around  the  cottage 
to  liic  soaring  eagle — and  as  he  takes  care  to  conceal  these  in 
every  forest,  to  hang  them  out  in  every  stream,  and  spread  them 
ill  every  field,  that  by  all  means  he  may  take  some,  so  satan 
hunts  for  men.  He  has  stratagems  of  all  sorts  and  sizes,  care- 
fully concealed  in  all  the  walks  of  life,  and  suited  to  the  decep- 
tion and  ruin  of  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men.  The  only 
precaution  which  he  finds  it  necessary  to  use  in  order  to  suc- 
cess^ is  to  conceal  the  immediate  danger  so  as  not  to  give 
alarm.  The  partridge  has  often  seen  her  mates  entangled  in 
ihc  sportsman's  net,  yet  will  she  be  taken  in  the  same  way  ; 
the  fish  also  has  seen  his  fellows  drawn  from,  his  native  ele- 
ment by  means  of  the  fisherman's  hook;  but  bites  at  the  very 
same  bait ;  and  such  is  the  infatuation  of  our  fallen  race  that 
we  are  enticed  into  those  very  sins  by  which  we  have  seen  so 
many  thousands  ruined.  And  more  stupid  even  than  the  brute 
creation,  we  are  most  easily  deceived  by  those  very  stratagems 
from  which  we  have  barely  escaped  with  our  lives.  It  avails 
but  little  to  warn  us  of  unseen  consequences,  to  tell  us  of  the 
hundreds  that  we  ourselves  have  known  destroyed  in  this  very 
way  ;  this  often  serves  to  make  us  both  blinder  and  harder. 
Unless  we  are  made  to  see  the  danger  with  our  own  eyes  and 
to  hear  it  with  our  own  ears — unless  we  can  see  the  frightful 
luniter  and  feel  the  piercings  of  his  barbed  hook — we  will  not 
be  alarmed.  Even  then,  satan  often  finds  means  to  deceive  j 
and  his  hapless  victim  turns  all  his  spite  against  the  kind 
friend  who  would  save  him  from  ruin,  and  blindly  lollows 
fliG  nioii-^Lcr  who  is  conducting  hnu  to  the  chambers  of  death  I 

Tli  oniGliuics  mi'itakcu  for  a.  decree  in  which  the 


Saviour  positively  ordains  that  certain  individuals  shall  be 
guilty  of  oll'ences,  and  then  denounces  a  woe  against  them  for 
so  doing,  and  is  considered  "  a  hard  saying  whereas  it  is  no 
more  than  a  prophecy  of  what  should  come  to  pass.  Our 
Saviour  took  especial  pains  to  prepare  his  followers  for  all 
the  trials  that  awaited  them.  On  another  occasion,  he  had 
told  them  that  they  would  be  delivered  to  the  councils,  scour- 
ged in  the  synagogues,  brought  before  kings  and  governors — 
that  the  brother  should  deliver  up  the  brother  to  death,  the  pa- 
rents the  children,  that  children  should  rise  up  against  their 
parents  and  cause  them  to  be  put  to  death,  and  that  they 
should  be  hated  of  all  men  for  his  name's  sake.  Now  again 
he  assures  them  that "  offences  must  needs  come/'  The  ne- 
cessity here  spoken  of  evidently  originates  in  sin.  It  is  not 
asserted  either  in  this  or  in  any  other  part  of  the  word,  that 
there  is  an  original  necessity  for  sin.  This  might  have  been 
avoided  in  the  beginning,  and  by  the  grace  of  God,  it  may  be 
overcome  now.  But  sin  having  been  introduced  into  the  world, 
man  will  both  offend  and  be  offended  ;  and  whatever  may  be 
the  array  of  circumstances  thrown  around  him,  however 
strong  his  natural  bias  to  evil,  the  full  concurrence  of  his  own 
will  in  the  offence,  and  the  conviction  resting  upon  his  mind 
that  lie  could  have  done  otherwise,  are  sufficient  to  justify 
the  severest  sentence  of  woe  upon  his  soul.  And  the  practi- 
cal lesson  which  the  Master  here  teaches  is,  that  no  kind  of 
necessity  ivill  justify  an  offence  or  stratagem  by  ivhich  men 
deceive,  mislead,  and  ruin  each  other. 

2.  In  the  particular  application  of  this  general  truth  to  the 
practical  affairs  of  life,  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  say  that 
falsehoods,  flatteries,  thefts,  &c.,  are  offences  of  the  basest  kind. 
This  will  be  fully  admitted  by  all.  But  there  is  another  spirit 
\vhich  has  obtained  extensive  favor.  Concerning  its  origin 
men  are  not  fully  agreed.  Whether  it  was  born  in  heaven  or 
generated  in  hell,  whether  it  is  to  be  numbered  among  the 
^'good  creatures  of  God"  or  the  "crooked  inventions/^  of 
men,  are  questions  still  debated  in  the  schools  of  disptitants ; 
but  that  it  has  met  with  unusual  Guccossall  must  admit.  Evi^ 
deiitly  of  low  and  vulgar  habits,  it  has  made  iiuccrssful  court 


7 


to  the  great  ones  of  ihe  earth.  Wi(h  nothing  to  recommend  it 
but  tlie  mullitudc  of  its  slain^  and  the  well  known  excesses 
and  indecencies  which  it  has  committed,  undeV  the  specious 
pretexts  of  medicines,  cordials,  &c.,  it  has  found  its  way  into 
the  highest  circles  of  life  and  figured  very  largely  in  the  most 
fashionable  parties.  With  some  more  ditllculty  it  has  gained 
upon  the  good  graces  of  the  fair,  so  far  at  least,  as  to  find  a 
place  in  their  mince-pies  and  syllabubs.  And  although  it  is 
tiie  well  known  author  of  more  jealousies,  envies,  and  divi- 
sions  in  society  than  any  one  agent,  it  enters  extensively  into 
the  social  circle,  and  from  these  important  services  borrows 
one  of  its  most  imposing  titles,  to  wit:  "the  social  glass.'' 
This  ardent  spirit  has  been  accused  of  deception  and  ruin  : — 
"  Wine  is  a  mocker,  strong  drink  is  raging,  and  whosoever  is 
deceived  thereby  is  not  wise."  And  notwithstanding  the 
number  of  its  dear  lovers  and  the  intluence  of  its  supporters, 
it  shall  not  be  shielded  from  a  fair  investigation  of  these 
charges.  With  this  then,  we  begin  the  application  of  the 
text.  And  our  first  and  last  appeal  is,  "to  the  law  and  to 
the  testimony  :  il  our  opponents  speak  not  according  to  thi'^ 
word  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them." 

(1)  The  first  truths  from  which  we  can  draw  au  inference  or 
upon  which  wo  can  build  an  argument,are  these,  that  while  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  7'<'5'/«me?z/ do  generally  represent  wme 
and  strong  drink  as  great  mockers  and  protest  loudly  against 
the  evils  of  drunkenness,  they  do  not  prohibit  the  use  of  wine 
altogether,  but  often  speak  of  the  vine  and  its  fruits  as  great 
blessings.^ 

From  these  truths  we  may  draw  the  following  inferences  : 
1.  Whereas  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  do  not  entirely  pro- 
hibit the  use  of  wine,therefore  if  we  lived  under  a  dispensation 
just  such  as  theirs,  and  if  our  Mquors  were  as  mild  as  the 
wines  us©d  at  that  time,  it  would  be  wrong  for  us  to  prohibit 
the  use  of  such  liquors  altogether;  for  in  that  case  they  might 
be  used  without  offence,  2.  Whereas  the  Old  Testament  Scrip 

*  The  art  of  distillation  was  not  known  to  the  ancients,  and  inuch  of  their 
wine  was  not  intoxicating-  or  very  sliirluly  so,  and  v.'as  used  for  nourish' 
mevt,  as  it  still  is  in  somo  E'irop°an  countries. 


luves  lIo  of(eii  iv|'r<'^(-iii  wnic  and  Mi'uii^  uiiiiK  ....  ;iic  i.au^cs  ui 
great  ofTences.  we  may  infer,  that  if  onr  dispensalion  was  as  dark 
and  our  liqnorg  as  mild  as  theirs,  still  these  liquors  would  be  the 
cause  of  frequent  and  outrageous  offences;  and  that  while  they 
might  be  innocently  used  by  some,  they  would  prove  an 
occasion  of  stumbling  to  thousands.  But  whereas  the  Chris- 
tian dispensation  is  much  brighter  than  the  Mosaic,  and 
whereas  the  Uquors  used  at  the  present  day  are  far  more 
hurtful  than  the  wines  of  the  ancient  Jews,  the  first  of  the  a- 
bove  conclusionscannot  be  drawn,  while  the  second  is  much 
strengthened.  That  is,  the  fact  that  the  Old  Testament  does 
not  entirely  prohibit  the  use  of  such  wine  as  was  then  made, 
is  no  evidence  that  the  Bible  does  not  condemn  the  common 
use  of  such  spirituous  liquors  as  we  have,  while  every  thing 
that  is  said  in  the  Old  Testament  against  drunkenness  &c.,  the 
increased  light  of  the  New  Testament  dispensation,  and  the 
more  intoxicating  quality  of  our  liquors  render  it  extremely 
probable/if  not  absolutely  certain,  that  the  Bible  condemns 
their  common  use.  You  need  not  be  at  all  surprised,  gentle 
hearer,  if  some  such  condemnatory  sentence  should  be  brought 
forward,  if  indeed  it  has  not  already  appeared. 

(2.)  Another  fact  bearing  strongly  upon  this  subject,  is  that 
certain  holy  characters  were  not  allowed  to  use  wine  at  all : 
such  as,  the  priests  when  they  went  into  the  tabernacle,  that 
they  might  thereby  put  a  difference  between  holy  and  unho- 
ly;"* the  Nazarites,because  they  were  "holy  unto  the  Lordj'^t 
certain  remarkable  personages :  as  Samson,  John  the  Baptist, 
&:c.;  andtheRechabites,because  they  had  been  so  instructed  by 
Jonadab  their  father.§  To  test  their  firmness,  these  last  were 
taken  by  Jeremiah,  a  prophet  of  the  Lord,  into  the  temple  of 
God,  and  there,  in  that  holy  place,  and  by  that  holy  man,  pots 
full  of  wine  were  set  before  them.  A  stronger  temptation 
could  not  have  been  but  iri  their  way  ;  but  they  firmly  resis- 
ted it ;  and  God  signified  his  approbation  of  Jonadab's  charge 
and  of  their  obedience  by  one  of  the  most  lasting  promises  to  Ik- 
found  in  his  word:  "Jonadab  the  son  of  Rcchal  Imi'  -i  .t 
want  a  man  to  stand  before  me  forever.'- 


Jer.  xxxi> 


C^tiiisliuiks  are  true  aiiletypes  uf  such  cliaraclers  as  the 
above.  Tiiey  are  a  'Toya!  and  holy  priesthood, an  holy  nation, 
a  peculiar  people""- — kings  and  priests  unto  Godt — he  that  is 
least  ni  the  kuigdom  of  heaven  is  greater  than  John  the  Bap- 

Take  the  former  of  these  facts  for  the  major  proposition  of 
a  syllogism,  and  the  second  for  the  muior,  the  conclusion  will 
be  that  christians  should  not  use  even  such  wine  as  was  made 
among  the  Hebrews.  For  if  priests  when  they  entered  into 
the  tabernacle  made  with  hands"  were  forbidden  the  use 
of  wine,  and  if  christians  are  "  a  royal  priesthood/'  who  have 
entered  ^^^into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus/-  surely  they 
should  not  use,  it  so  long  as  they  continue  in  Christ.^i — If  Naz- 
arites  were  forbidden  to  use  wine  because  ^'the  consecration 
of  God  was  upon  their  heads^and  because  they  were  "  holy 
unto  the  Lord/'  and  if  christians  are  a  "  holy  people/'  fully 
consecrated  to  God  by  baptism,  surely  they  are  likewise  for- 
bidden to  use  it  during  all  the  days  of  their  separation  from 
sin. — If  such  characters  as  Samson,  John  the  Baptist,  &c., 
wdio  were  rendered  great  among  men  by  the  distinguished 
services  they  had  to  perform,  did  not  use  wine,  and  if  the 
least  christian  is  greater  than  John  the  Baptist^  how  can 
such  a  one  reconcile  it  to  the  dignity  of  his  station  and  the 
important  duties  which  devolve  upon  him  to  use  even  the 
mildest  kind  of  wine  ?  Even  this,  taken  in  the  smallest  quan- 
tities^ would  have  defiled  a  priest  or  Nazarite,  shorn  Samson 
of  hisstrength,  converted  the  Rechabite's  blessing  into  a  curse, 
or  disqualified  John  the  Baptist  for  his  important  services  ; 
and  such  are  its  withering  influences  still.  Though  holier 
than  a  priest  of  the  living  God  and  purer  than  a  Nazarite — 
though  greater  in  priviliges  than  John  the  Baptist  and  stron- 
ger in  faith  than  Samson  was  in  body,  the  christian  will  feel 
its  defiling,  its  weakening,  its  deadening  influences  in  aU  the 
powers  of  his  ransomed  soul^till  he  fall  like  lightning  from 
his  heaven  of  holiness  and  love  into  the  lowest  depths  of  sin 
and  misery.ji  Hence  we  venture  the  assertion,  and  we  do  it 
without  the  fear  of  successful  contradiction,  that  there  is  not 

n  Pet.  u.  9  fRev.  I.  G.  Mat.  xi.  11. 


io 


u  suiglc  jjas.si/^t  ill  tht  New  Teslar/ic /it .  u  hirn,  .ci.<^.ii  rigid- 
ly understood,  will  sanction  iht  continued  use  of  wine  a- 
niong  christians  except  for  medical  or  sacramental  pur- 
■porses* 

*  Some  contend  that  we  have  the  Saviour's  example  for  the  use  of  wine. 
"  John  the  Baptist  came  neither  eating  bread  nor  drinlcing  wine,  and  ye  say,  He 
liath  a  devil.  The  Son  of  man  is  come  eating  and  drinking,"  &c. — they  fill  up 
the  elipsis  with  the  terms  "  bread  and  wine."  But  an  improbable  conjecture  which 
has  no  stronger  evidence  than  this  to  sustain  it  may  well  be  doubted. 

But  suppose  the  Saviour  had  used  wine,  it  would  no  more  follow  that  we 
should  do  so  likewise  than  it  does  that  wc  should  be  circumcised,  keep  the  pass- 
over,  wear  sandals,  recline  at  the  table,  &c.,  because  he  did  these  things.  ChrivSt 
was  the  representative  of  two  dispensations;  and  it  was  just  as  necessary  for  him 
to  be  a  fair  representative  of  what  was  inoffensive  in  the  Jewish  dispensation  as  to 
set  an  example  for  his  own.  The  law  he  fulfilled  in  his  own  person,  and  conse- 
quently fell  into  ihc  innocent  customs  of  the  law.  The  feast  of  the  passover, 
marriage  feasts,  and  as  we  have  already  seen,  the  use  of  mild  wines,  were  among 
these  customs.  With  the  first  two  of  these  customs  he  complied,  in  order  to  fulfil 
the  law;  and  if  he  did  with  the  last,  (a  position  which  still  wants  proof,)  it  wasfov 
the  same  reason. 

The  above  reason  may  also  account  for  his  making  wine  at  the  marriage 
feast,  and  using  the  cup  at  the  passover;  but  there  are  still  more  spiritual  reasons 
for  both  of  these  transactions. 

Wine  was  one  of  the  promised  blessings  (or  curses)  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  to 
which  he  belonged,  (Gen.  xlix.  10,  11,)  and  may  be  considered  a  prophetic  badge 
of  this  tribe.  Immediately  after  foretelling  that  the  sceptre  should  not  depart  from 
Judah  nor  a  lawgiver  from  between  his  feet  till  Shiloh  come,  &c. — a  prophecy 
which  is  universally  referred  to  Christ— Jacob  adds  (still  speaking  of  Judah) 
"binding  his  foal  unto  the  vine,  he  shall  wash  his  garments  in  wine."  So  that 
this  first  miracle  may  be  in  some  sense  a  fulfillment  of  prophecy,  by  whicli  he 
more  fully  identified  himself  with  the  tribe  of  Judah  as  being  that  Shiloh  that  had 
been  promised. 

Again,  as  the  marriage  state  is  a  beadtiful  figure  of  Christ's  union  with  the 
church,  so  this  wine  made  at  the  marriage  feast  may  be  regarded  an  expressive 
figure  of  his  passion  by  which  his  marriage  to  the  church  was  fully  consummated. 
And  this  view  of  the  subject  is  much  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  wine  in  the 
Eucharist  has  been  continued  as  a  memorial  of  that  transaction. 

Certainly  there  is  nothing  in  all  this  to  justify  christians  in  the  common  use 
of  wine.  What  have  they  to  do  with  Jewish  customs?  Have  they  a  law  and  a 
prophecy  to  fulfill  by  the  use  of  wine  ? — a  passion  to  prefigure  1 — a  miracle  to 
work?  Are  they  Hebrews?  Do  they  five  under  the  Mosaic  dispensation ? — 
Do  they  belong  to  the  tril)c  of  Judah  ?  Blind  and  sordid  indeed  must  that  mind 
be,  which  can  find  in  such  spiritual  and  holy  transactions  as  these  a  justification 
for  one  of  the  lowest  sensualities  !    Truly  .such  may  be  said  to  follow  Chripl  .  not 


I  s 

(3)  Having  yiiowii  iliat  liie  coininou  use  of  even  imld  wiiic 
IS  calculated  to  olieiid  spiritual  christians,  we  miglit  build  up- 
on this  showing  a  powerlul  argument  against  the  use  of  more 
intoxicating  liquors  ;  for  surely  it  is  a  greater  offence  to  drink 

because  they  "see  the  miracle,  but  because  they  do  drink  of  the  luinc  and  arc 
drunken.^'' 

That  "  the  fruit  of  the  vine,"  first  used  in  the  Eucharist  was  not  intoxica- 
ting wine,  is  sufficiently  evident  from  the  occasion  on  which  this  sacrament  was 
instituted,  namely  :  at  the  feast  of  thepassover.  At  this  feast  the  Hebrews  were 
strictly  forbidden  to  use  any  thing  that  was  leavened  (Exod.  xii,  15,  &c.)  The 
word  hero  translated  "leaven"  applies  to  any  thing  which  is  "sharp,  pungent,  or 
sour,"  such  as  "vineg^ar,"  (see  Genesis,)  and  is  believed  to  include  fermented 
wine.  Again,  the  Jews  used  unleavened  bread  to  show  their  haste  in  leaving 
Egypt;  for  the  same  reason  should  they  have  used  unfermented  wine.  Another 
obvious  reason  for  this  prohibition  applies  with  more  force  to  fermented  wine 
than  to  leavened  bread  ;  for  the  whole  nation  being  assembled  together  for  more 
than  a  week  at  this  feast,  was  in  great  danger  of  falling  into  excesses  ;  therefore 
leavened  bread  and  fermented  wine  were  prohibited  for  \lie  same  reason  that 
dainties  and  Uquors  should  be  banished  from  our  camp  meetings,  to  prevent  glut- 
tony and  drunkenness.  This  was  the  occasion  on  which  our  Saviour  instituted 
the  Eucharist ;  and  we  cannot  for  a  moment  suppose  that  lie  would  so  far  de- 
part from  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  law  as  to  use  leavened  bread  or  fermented 
wine. 

But  suppose  the  wine  used  in  this  sacrament  had  been  of  an  intoxicating  char- 
acter, yet  this  very  use  of  it  is  one  of  the  strongest  reasons  why  it  should  not  be 
drunk  on  ordinary  occasions.  Wine  is  here  made  an  emblem  of  blood,  the  use 
of  which  is  forbidden  both  under  the  Mosaic  and  christian  dispensations,  (Levit. 
xvii,  14;  Acts,  xv,  20,  29.)  It  is  consecrated  to  a  sacred  purpose,  and  nothing 
can  have  a  stronger  tendency  to  disqualify  a  communicant  for  the  solejunities  of 
the  Eucharist  than  the  habit  of  regarding  its  elements  articles  of  common  use 
'J'he  bread  used  on  such  occasions  to  represent  the  body  of  Christ,  should  be  un. 
leavened,  unseasoned,  such  as  we  do  not  eat  at  ordinary  meals;  and  the  "fruit  of 
the  vine,"  representing  his  blood,  should  never  be  used  on  ordinary  occasions. — 
The  very  thought  of  these  articles  should  be  associated  with  the  sufferings 
and  death  of  our  Saviour,  and  forever  banish  a  taste  for  any  thing  that  will  in- 
toxicat^. 

As  for  those  passages  where  it  is  said  a  bishop  or  deacon  should  not  be  "giv- 
en to  wine — to  much  wine,"  (phrases  of  synonymous  import,)  we  have  sufficient 
evidence  in  the  case  of  Timothy,  how  they  were  understood  by  the  first  ministers 
of  the  gospel.  He  would  not  use  even  "a  liLlle  wine^*  for  medicine  without  the 
prescription  of  an  inspired  man.  And  these  (the  Eucharistic  and  medical)  arc 
the  only  innocent  and  safe  uses  that  can  be  made  of  it  at  the  present  day. — 
Whatever  christian  uses  it  in  any  other  way  docs  so  without  the  support  of  bible 
authority,  without  llic  sanction  of  the  Saviour's  usage,  and  without  a  precedent 
yi  apostolic  example,  but  in  diPrct  ftpprfsUton  to  ttic  whole  of  I he.^'-  uithoriucs 


1*^ 


ardent  t;pirils  than  it  is  to  use  wine.    But  wc  prefer  to  try 
this  evil  npon  its  own  merits  by  the  same  standard  of  uner- 
ring truth.    And  since  we  must  now  introduce  a  subject  by 
which  to  test  its  effects,  we  will  begin  with  the  occasional 
moderate  drinker.    The  characteristics  of  an  otfencc  are  de- 
ception and  ruin.    Let  us  see  if  these  are  developed  in  liim. 
He  supposes  then  that  there  is  nothing  in  God's  word  to  con- 
demn his  practice,  and  that  in  persisting  in  it  lie  is  transgres- 
sing no  moral  precept  of  that  word.    He  makes  these  sup- 
positions, 1  say,  otherwise  he  is  an  acknowledged  stumbling- 
block.  The  former  of  these  suppositions  has  already  been  shown 
to  be  a  mistake,  the  latter  is  easily  proved  to  be  such.    If  he 
did  not  contract  this  habit  by  taking  sweetened  drams  from 
the  hand  of  an  imprudent  mother,  or  by  following  the  pre- 
scriptions of  a  still  more  imprudent  physician,  it  is  more  than 
likely  tliat  he  acquired  it  by  the  ungodly  advice  or  example 
of  improper  associates.    Here  then,  at  the  very  threshold, 
he  has  fallen  short  of  that  "love''  for  the  brethren  which 
Christ  makes  one  distinguishing  trait  ot  his  disciples,  and  pre- 
ferred the  society  and  advice  of  others  ;  he  has    walked  in  the 
counsel  of  the  upgodly    — (for  none  but  the  ungodly  would 
give  such  counsel) — he  lias  neglected  that  fatherly  injunction, 
"come  out  from  among  them  and  be  ye  separate" — that 
wholesome  caution,  "look  not  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red, 
when  it  giveth  his  color  in  the  cup,"  and  that  still  more  point- 
ed warning,  "touch  not,  taste  not, — all  of  which  perish  in 
the  using."    Yet  he  supposes  that  his  course  is  not  opposed 
to  the  principles  of  the  Bible  ! 

The  occasional  drain-drinkcr  supposes  fnrther,  that  he  i? 
doing  no  spiritual  injury  either  to  himself  or  others,  for  un- 
less he  drinks  with  this  understanding  he  must  know  that  he 
is  drinking  with  offence.  But  let  us  see  if  he  is  not  mistaken 
m  this  also.  A  very  moderate  dram  stimulates  the  system 
and  excites  the  mind.  This  excitement  being  needlessly 
brought  on  is  not  controlled  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  it  is  writ- 
ten, "  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God  ;"  and  a  man 
m  sucii  a  state  will  think,  s]>eak,  and  act  as  he  would  not 
otherwise  have  done.    He  feels  an  unusual  degree  of  levity- 


and  gives  way  to  "jesting,  filthiness,  and  foolish  talking'- — 
of  anger  and  indulges  in  "  wit,  evil  speaking,  slanders,  back- 
biting, or  railing'' — or  of  pride,  which  leads  to  "  vain  boas- 
ting/' These  states  of  mind  are  directly  opposed  "  sobriety'' 
and"  watchfulness/' to  " purity, meekness, and  humility,"  all 
of  which  are  enjoined  in  God's  word  ;  and  this  unbridled  use 
of  the  tongue  is  by  no  means  "  seasoned  with  salt,  and  meet 
to  minister  grace  to  the  hearers."  After  the  stimulation  there 
follows  a  reaction  ;  and  then  it  is  impossible  to  be  "  diligent 
m  business,  fervent  in  spirit  serving  the  Lord — to  love  the 
Lord  with  all  the  heart,  mind,  soul  and  strength,"  for  the  sub- 
ject feels  almost  devoid  of  either.  Meanwhile  his  example 
has  a  most  withering  Influence  upon  the  morals  and  destinies 
of  the  rising  generation  ;  and  some  unguarded  expression  (for 
no  allowance  is  yet  made  for  his  "  being  in  liquor")  creates 
envies,  discords,  and  divisons,  in  society  around.  Yet  he 
supposes  that  he  is  doing  no  harm  !  ! 

Every  repetition  of  the  stimulauthelps  to  create  a  habit,  not 
only  ofdrinking,  but  likewise  of  speaking  andactingunder  its 
infl!uence,  which,  with  little  less  than  omnipotent  power,is  fast- 
ening upon  his  soul.  The  dram-drinker  must  know  that  thous- 
ands of  better,  wiser,  and  stronger  men  than  himself  have 
been  brought  so  completely  under  the  power  of  this  habit  as 
to  ruin  both  themselves  and  their  families ;  and  indeed  he 
feels  it  rapidly  increasing  on  himself,  (for  any  person  who 
drinks  at  all  will  sometimes  drink  too  much,)  yet  in  the  face 
of  all  these  facts,  he  makes  another  supposition  sufficiently 
strange  to  astonish  both  men  and  angels — hear  it,  O  heavens, 
and  be  confounded,  0  earth  ! — He  supposes  that  he  is  in  no 
danger  of  becoming  a  drunkard  !  ! !  Was  ever  a  mortal  m.orc 
decieved } 

As  the  moderate  drinker  has  not  yet  forsaken  the  house  of 
God,  it  is  possible  that  his  eyes  might  be  opened  to  see  his 
danger  if  Satan  did  not  find  means  to  increase  his  delusion. — 
It  would  be  tedious  to  follow  him  in  all  his  stages  down  this 
dark  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death."  Let  it  suffice  to  say 
that  he  takes  one  step  and  then  another — falls  into  stratagem 
after  stratagem;  till  with  a  bloatrd  face,  dis5lorfed  features, 


14 


and  ruined  constitution — till  liaving  wasted  Ins  estate  and 
reduced  his  family  to  beggary,  having  lost  all  ailection  for  his 
Avife,  all  sense  of  shame,  and  all  love  for  God's  people-^with 
a  mind  in  the  very  image  and  superscription  of  the  devil — 
till  peeled  by  the  gambler's  cunning,  and  tainted  by  the  har- 
lot's rotten  breath,  he  sinks  down  into  a  state  of  drunken  sot- 
tishness.  We  will  not  say  th^t  this  man  was  deluded  all  the 
while.  Blind  indeed  must  he  have  been  if  he  did  not  at  last 
begin  to  see  that  he  was  departing  from  the  living  God ;  hard 
must  have  been  his  heart  if  he  did  not  feel  pangs  of  keenest 
remorse.  But  habit  had  then  enslaved  him,  sin  had  corrup- 
ted his  heart,  and  he  was  "  led  captive  by  the  devil  at  his 
will.''  Now  again  in  fits  of  the  delirium  tremens  and  9na- 
niapotu  he  is  made  to  feel  some  foretaste  of  hell,  and  to  see 
the  companions  of  his  future  home.  But  what  does  all  this 
avail  ?  His  moral  powers  are  now  completely  paralized, 
and  nothing  but  a  miracle  of  grace,  such  a  one  as  is  not  of- 
ten wrought  by  the  weak  faith  of  this  generation,  will  save 
him.  And  now,  "who  hath  woe?  who  hath  sorrow?  who 
hath  contention?  who  hath  babbling?  who  hath  wounds 
without  cause  ?  who  hath  redness  of  eyes  ?"  Is  it  not  he 
that "  tarrying  long  at  the  wine  "  has  fallen  into  a  narrow 
pit  ?"  Yea,  he  has  felt  that "  her  end  is  bitter  as  wormwood, 
sharp  as  a  two-edged  sword  " — that  "at  the  last  it  biteth  like  a 
serpent  and  stingeth  hke  an  adder."* 

And  now  alas,  alas,  for  the  broken  hearted  wife  and  helpless 
children !  Ye  friends,  cover  your  heads  for  shame,  and  ye 
parents,  bow  down  your  grey  hairs  in  sorrow  to  the  grave. — 
But  why  attempt  to  describe  the  evils  of  this  offence  ?  Had 
I  a  thought  sufficiently  powerful  to  shock  the  universe,  and 
had  I  a  word  to  convey  this  thought  which  would  blight  like 
the  mildew  and  shiver  like  the  lightnings  of  heaven — had  1 
power  to  compare  this  word  up  to  the  surperlative  degree  and 
charge  it  with  the  seven  last  woes  of  the  Apocalypse,  and 
had  I  an  angel's  voice  to  sound  it  till  it  should  howl  with  the 
ytorm  around  every  sea  bound  shore,  and  till  every  nibuii- 
tain  rock  should  rend  with  its  echoes,  it  would  give  but  a  fee-. 


Prov.  x.xiii,  27,  32. 


15 


bie  expression  of  t.lie  evils  produced  Uy  this  single  offence. 
Yea,  a  thousand  such  thoughts  and  ten  thon.sand  such  words 
could  not  conceive  the  depths  of  woe  or  express  the  pangs  of 
sorrow  occasioned  by  offences. 

3.  From  offences  we  proceed  to  apply  the  truths  of  this 
text  to  offenders  as  the  moral  agents  by  whom  offences  come  : 
"  woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the  offence  cometh  !" — to  the 
distiller  who  makes  the  spkits,  the  merchant  who  sells  it,  the 
landlord  or  candidate  who  treats  with  it — to  the  man  who 
teaches  another  to  gamble,  or  entices  him  mto  any  other  sin. 
But  the  offender  has  apologies  for  his  course,  and  before  he  is 
finally  condemned  it  is  but  fair  that  these  should  be  heard. 

(1)  He  contends  that  he  is  not  responsible  for  other  men^s 
sms  ;  for  they  are  moral  agents  fully  accountable  for  their  own 
conduct. — He  does  not  comjoe/ them  to  sin  ;  they  doit  of  their 
own  free  choice  ;  and  he  thinks  it  hard  that  he  should  be  pun- 
ished for  other  men's  follies. 

In  meeting  this  objection  to  the  application  of  our  text, 
we  feel  that  we  could  not  do  the  subject  a  greater  injustice 
than  we  should  by  singling  out  a  few  instances  in  which  one 
man  is  held  responsible  for  the  moral  inffuence  of  his  con- 
duct upon  others  as  if  these  were  all  that  could  be  adduced. 
Whereas  the  application  is  made  upon  a  universal  principle, 
founded  upon  the  uniform  testimony  of  God's  word  and  ac- 
knowledged in  all  associations  whether  social,  civil,  or  re- 
ligious. It  is  this  which  makes  the  parent  feel  such  a  deep 
solicitude  for  the  good  of  his  children,  which  gives  the  states- 
man so  much  concern  for  the  welfare  of  his  country,  which 
burdens  the  minister's  mind  with  such  a  weight  of  responsi- 
bility for  the  people  of  his  charge  ;  in  siiort,  which  binds  to- 
gether the  whole  frame  work  of  society.  The  objector  him- 
self acts  upon  this  principle  in  all  matters  in  which  his  im- 
medi^ate  interest  is  not  concerned.  If  he  were  on  a  jury,  and 
four  men  were  brought  before  him  and  proved  guilty,  the  one 
of  making  a  plot  to  murder  a  man,  another  of  furnishing  a 
rope  to  tie  and  a  knife  to  stab  him,  a  third  of  tying,  and  a 
fourth  of  stabbing  him,  as  an  honest  juror  the  objector  would 
feel  himself  bound  lo  convict  Ihcni  all  o(  murder.    It  would 


10 


not  do  for  one  of  tlie  counsel  to  argue  that  any  man  might 
sell  a  knife  and  rope,  which  might  be  used  m  murdermg  a 
fellow  being,  and  tliat  it  would  be  illegal  to  punish  such  ven- 
der ;  therefore  this  man  who  furnished  the  knife  and  rope 
for  the  very  purpose  of  assisting  a  murderer  should  not  be 
punished ; — the  attorney  would  gain  nothing  by  contending 
thaJ  if  his  client  had  not  assisted  in  making  the  plot  another 
would  ;  therefore  he  ought  to  be  acquitted,  for  his  refusal  to 
assist  would  not  have  saved  the  man's  Viie.  Any  juror  of 
common  sense  would  at  once  detect  such  barefaced  sophisms ; 
yet  these  and  like  flimsy  apologies  are  the  only  justifications 
which  many  have,  when  fully  convicted  of  furnis^hing  facili- 
ties, making  plots,  &c.  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell 
forever  ! 

Nevertheless  if  particular  texts  of  scripture,  showing  a 
man's  responsibility  for  the  moral  influence  of  his  conduct  were 
demanded,  they  are  ever  at  hand.  And  what  could  be  plain- 
er than  the  text  ?  Woe  to  that  mail  by  whom  the  off'ence 
cometh  !"  Again,  it  is  said  in  the  law,  "  thou  shalt  not  put 
a  stumbUng-blocic  before  the  blind — cursed  is  he  that  maketh 
the  blind  to  wandex  out  of  the  way."  *  Who  is  blinder  than 
the  man  led  by  his  appetites  and  passions  ?  aad.  what  is  a 
greater  stumbling-block  than  something  calculated  to  excite 
these  "  blind  leaders  of  the  blind?"  Take  another  case;  if 
a  man  had  an  ox  that  had  been  "  wont  to  push  with  tiis  horns 
in  time  past,  and  it  had  been  testified  to  the  owner,  and  he 
had  not  kept  him  in,  but  that  he  had  killed  a  man  or  a  w,o- 
man,"  the  sentence  of  the  law  was,  "the  ox  shall  be  stoned, 
and  his  owner  also  shall  be  put  to  death. "t  We  have  in- 
spired authority  for  saying  that  the  oxen  in  the  law  that 
trod  out  the  corn  are  a  figure  of  the  christian  ministry;  and 
this  one  that  "  pushed  with  his  horns"  is  quite  as  apt  a  figure 
of  any  thing  that  injures  mankind.  Only  name  him  whiskey^ 
brandy,  or  rum,  and  the  rest  of  the  verse  is  easily  interpreted. 
Again,  "  did  not  Achan  the  son  of  Zerah,  commit  a  trespass  iii 
the  accusred  thing,  and  wrath  fell  upon  the  whole  house  of 
Israel  ?  and  that  man  perished  not  alone  in  his  iniquity.":]: 


>Levit.  xix.l4  ;  Deut.  xxvii,  18.       fExod.xxi.  29,       tJosh.  xxii.  20. 


17 


And  did  iioUlie  distillur  boil  liis  J:t  alc,did  nut  tli<:  Lar  keept;i 
doal  out  his  liquors,  and  did  not  llio  landlord  and  the  candi- 
date treat  with  them,  and  wrath  fell  upon  the  cnlire  commu- 
nity around  ?  and  these  men  perished  not  alone  in  their  ini- 
quity. Yea  verily  they  did,  and  God  saw  it  and  said  as  from 
the  thunders  of  Sinai,  "  Woe  unto  him  that  giveth  his  neigh- 
bour drink  !* — He  that  hath  an  ear  to  hear  let  him  hear." 

Cases  like  the  above  might  be  multiplied  to  almost  any 
number,  but  if  there  were  not  another  case  in  all  the  Bible, 
that  of  eating  meats  sacrificed  to  idols  would  be  sufficient  for 
our  purpose.  In  Romet  and  also  in  Corinth  J  it  was  the  cus- 
tom to  sell  meats  in  the  shambles  which  had*  been  offered  in 
sacrifice  to  their  idols.  A  question,  it  would  seem,  arose  in 
the  churches  at  these  places,  whether  it  was  lawful  for  chris- 
tians to  buy  ai\d  eat  these  meats  with  the  understanding  that 
they  had  been  offered  to  idols.  Some  believed  that  it  was, 
others  that  it  was  not.  St.  Paul  decided  that  it  was  sinful  to 
eat  such  meats,  upon  the  ground  that  it  had  an  unhappy  moral 
influence  upon  others.  He  admits  fully  that  eating  such 
meats  was  not  sinful  in  itself  to  one  who  gave  God  thanks 
and  did  not  eat  with  conscience  of  the  idol,§  and  bases  his  de- 
cision altogether  upon  the  bad  moral  influence  which  it  would 
have  upon  others.  For  there  were  some  who  still  regarded 
these  meats  "  with  conscience  of  the  idol,"  yet  they  might  be 
emboldened  to  eat  by  seeing  others  do  so,  and  this  would  bring 
them  into  condemnation.  In  this  event,  brethren  who  set 
such  an  example,  in  sinning  against  the  brethren  and  wound- 
ing their  weak  conscience,  would  "sin  against  Christ,"  and 
"destroy  him  with  their  meat  for  whom  Christ  died.'*  This 
would  bring  them  also  into  condemnation  with  such  as  they 
had  offended.  And  most  wholsomely  did  the  apostle  cau- 
tion them  to  "  take  heed  lest  this  liberty  of  theirs  should  be- 
come an  occasion  of  stumbling  to  them  that  were  weak 
he  assured  them  that  it  was  "good  neither  to  eat  flesh,  nor 
dri?ik  ivine^  nor  any  thing  else  whereby  their  brother  stum- 
bled, or  was  oftcnded,  or  made  weak,"  and  sustained  the 

*Hab.  ii,  15.  i  Kom.  xiv.  14  &('.  tl  Cor.  viii.  1  &c. 

)Roni.  xiv.  14;  1  ('or.  viii.  8. 


wliole  uy  ail  example  worthy  of  all  imitation;  "  wherefore,  it 
meat  make  my  brother  to  ofle.nci,  1  will  eat  no  tlesii  while  the 
world  standeth." 

Suppose  the  use  of  r^pirituous  liquors,  at  the  present  day, 
the  practice  of  gaming,  the  wearing  of  jewelry,  attending^ 
balls,  worldly  amusements,  &c.,  were  as  inoti'ensive  to  some 
as  the  simple  act  of  eating,  yet  would  those  who  practice  such 
things  be  in  the  same  predicament  With  their  elder  brethren 
of  Rome  and  Corinth.  It  will  not  be  denied  that  there  are 
thousands  of  others  who  still  use  these  things  .with  offence 
to  themselves  and  ruin  to  their  families:  such  is  their 
weakness  that  they  cannot  use  them  otherwise.  This  they 
are  often  emboldened  to  do  by  the  example  of  such  as  esteem 
their  own  course  innocent  and  do  not  run  into  great  excesses, 
but  who,  by  the  hurtful  influence  of  their  example,  become 
destroyers  of  "the  work  of  God,"  sinners  "  against  Christ, 
partakers  of  other  men's  sins." 

Let  us  allow  then  that  your  conscience  is  not  at  all  defiled 
by  the  moderate  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  or  by  the  simple 
act  of  distilling  and  vending  the  article — that  you  can  attend 
the  dance,  the  giddy  play,  the  circus,  the  race  field  without 
feeling  the  least  remorse  for  doing  so — let  us  further  allow  that 
you  are  so  far  an  exception  to  the  general  frailty  of  human 
nature,  that  while  thousands  of  every  grade  in  society  and 
condition  of  life,  from  the  least  esteemed  to  the  most  useful 
member  of  the  church,  are  daily  falling  from  the  moderate 
use  of  spirits  into  drunkenness,  disgrace,  and  ruin,  you  are 
entirely  safe  from  such  consequences — let  us  allow,  I  say, 
that  you  can  practice  such  things  with  a  clear  conscience  as 
to  their  evil  effects  upon  yourself,  and  with  a  perfect  exemp- 
tion from  the  danger  of  excess,  yet  unless  you  can  go  further 
and  assure  yourself  that  you  have  not  one  ounce  of  moral  in- 
fluence upon  your  fellow  men,  you  must  feel  that  you  are  de- 
filing weak  consciences,  and  so  sinning'against  Christ.  For 
if  any  person  who  esteems  your  course  sinful  should  be  mis- 
led by  your  example,  or  if  any  person  in  attempting  to  follow 
your  example  as  innocent  should  fall  into  greater  excesses, 
you  will  thereby  become  the  author  of  his  destruction.  Tin- 


less  you  liave  llic  I'lill  assurance  lluit  none  of  tliesc  consequen- 
ces will  lake  place,  you  pursue  your  couriie,  to  say  the  Icasl 
of  it,  with  a  doubting  conscience;  and  'Mie  that  doubteth  is 
damned." — No,  you  do  not,  you  cannot,  doubt  that  the  influ- 
ence of  your  example  is  of  a  most  destructive  character.  This 
you  must  know  and  feel. 

(2)  The  offender  pleads  necessity.  lie  has  a  family  to  sup- 
port, debts  to  pay,  a  house  to  raise,  company  to  entertain,  au 
election  to  gain,  &c.,  and  there  is  no  other  means  by  which 
he  can  effect  these  desirable  ends. 

Here  he  tacitly  admits  his  responsibility  for  the  moral  in- 
fluence of  his  conduct,  and  would  feel  that  he  was  committing 
a  great  sin  to  pursue  the  course  he  does  if  the  necessity  which 
impels  him  to  it  were  removed ;  but  so  long  as  this  remains, 
he  thinks  it  an  entire  justification.  In  other  words,  the  object 
in  view  is  a  good  one,  and  this,  in  his  estimation,  will  justify 
the  means  by  which  it  is  accomplished.  But  let  us  see  if  this 
will  stand  the  test  of  Scripture.  "  What  shall  we  say  then  ?*' 
says  an  inspired  man,  "  shall  we  continue  in  sin  that  grace 
may  abound  ?  God  forbid."*  The  apostle,  it  would  seem, 
had  been  charged  with  holding  the  very  doctrine  which  we 
liave  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  objector,  but  was  not  willing 
to  lie  under  such  an  imputation. — "  And  not  rather,  (as  we 
be  slanderously  reported,  and  as  some  aflirm  that  we  say,) 
Let  us  do  evil  that  good  may  come  ?  ivhose  damnation  is 
jusi.^''t  A  rebuke  which  should  hush  in  eternal  silence  the 
voice  of  all  such  as  think  to  pervert  the  principles  of  truth 
in  this  way. 

To  give  this  plea  a  fair  test,  let  us  cliange  the  object  of 
good  and  see  if  that  will  justify  the  use  of  unholy  means. 
Let  us  suppose  then  it  was  necessary  to  distill,  vend,  or  drink 
ardent  spirits,  to  dance,  gamble,  &.C.,  in  order  to  family  prayer, 
reading  the  Scriptures  or  hearing  the  word,  duties  quite  as 
important  as  those  above  named  ;  would  any  protestant  feel 
himself  under  obligation  (o  perform  such  duties.^  would  it  not 
be  at  once  perceived  that  the  unholy  means  necessary  to  be 
used  would  be  n  full  discharge  from  thc'obligatipus  tp  duties 

*^Roin.  vi.  I.  iRoiij.  m.  ^. 


proposed  to  be  effected  by  Ihcm  ?  Yet  if  the  good  done  in  sup- 
porting a  family  and  paying  debts  would  justify  the  making 
and  sale  of  ardent  spirits,  that  to  be  attained  by  family  prayer, 
&c.,  would  sanctify  all  the  cruelties  of  Popery  itself./^  In  direct 
opposition  to  this,  our  holy  Christianity  requires  the  sacrifice 
of  every  evil,howevcr  dear  or  profitable,  that  good  may  come. 
In  order  to  keep  their  conscience  undcfiled,  good  men  have 
found  it  necessary  to  pat  away  strange  wives,'^  to  forsake 
fathers,  mothers,  brothers,  sisters,  houses,  and  lands,  to  cut  off 
right  hand  and  pluck  out  right  eye  sins,  to  take  joyfully  "  the 
spoiling  of  their  goods,"  to  wander  about  in  "sheep  skins  and 
goatskins,"  to  dwell  in  "caves  and  dens  of  the  earth,"  to 
pine  away  in  prisons,  and  to  perish  by  thousands  at  the  mar- 
tyr's stake.  All  this  they  have  done,  when  by  a  far  less  evil 
than  that  of  vending  or  drinking  ardent  spirits  they  might 
iiave  shunned  the  cross.  Deluded  mortals  !  What  a  pity  it 
is  that  they  had  not  lived  in  this  enlightened  day,  when  they 
could  have  enjoyed  the  same  religion  exempt  from  all  its  sac- 
rifices ! ! 

Before  dismissing  this  pica,  let  us  turn  it  over  again  and 
give  It  another  test.  If  the  necessity  of  supporting  a  family 
or  paying  debts  will  justify  the  sale  of  ardent  spirits,  the  same 
necessity  will  justify  the  use  of  any  other  means  not  more  in- 
ijtirious  to  mankind  to  effect  the  same  object,  and  vice  versa. 
Now  I  presume  no  person  in  his  right  mind  will  contend  that 
the  necessity  of  supporting  a  family  or  paying  debts  will  jus- 
tify the  use  of  robbery,  theft,  or  murder  to  effect  cither  of  these 
objects.  Then  this  necessity  of  supporting  a  family  or  paying 
■debts  cannot  justify  the  use  of  any  other  means  which  does 
the  same  amount  of  injury  to  mankind  as  robbery,  &c.  While 
we  do  not  compare  the  disgrace  of  making,  vending,  and 
drinking  spirituous  liquors  with  that  of  robbery,  &c.,  we  do 
contend  that  the  spiritual  evils  produced  by  such  offences  are, 
in  many  respects,  more  injurious  to  mankind.  Common  rob 
bcry  or  theft  deprives  a  man  of  nothing  but  his  money  :  of^ 
fences,  such  as  thosi;  above  named,  lake  away  money,  time, 
health,  senses,  character,  peace  uf  mind,  and  liopc  of  heaven. 


^Ezra  X.  11 


'^1 

and  III  their  stead  inflict  sickness,  disgriice,  poverty,  and  ru- 
in,— Which  is  the  greatest  evil  ? — Common  murder  kills  the 
body,  and  after  that  has  no  more  that  it  can  do  ;  ofl'ences  de- 
stroy both  soul  and  body  in  hell  forever,  and  not  unfrequent- 
ly  leave  a  widowed  wife  and  fatherless  children  to  mourn  the 
loss.  And  can  the  necessity  of  supporting  one  man's  family 
or  paying  his  debts,  even  supposing  there  was  no  other  means 
of  effecting  these  objects,  justify  him  in  sending  the  soul  of 
another  man  to  hell,  and  reducing  his  family  to  want?  The 
answer  is  emphatically  no.  When  in  the  changes  of  human 
affairs  the  day  shall  come,  in  which  there  is  no  other  way  for 
the  good  man  to  take  care  of  his  family,  but  by  distilling  and 
vending  ardent  spirits,  or  throwing  stumbling-blocks  of  any 
kind  in  the  way  of  God's  children,  he  should  feel  himself 
called  upon  by  a  special  dispensation  of  divine  providence,  to 
lie  down  with  his  wife  and  children  and  die  ;  and  the  sacri- 
fice, as  has  been  well  remarked,  would  be  a  noble  offering  to 
virtue. 

4  In  the  exposition  and  application  of  this  subject,  we 
have  shown  you  that  the  term  "offences"  here  means  such 
stratagems  of  Satan  and  his  emissaries  as  are  calculated  to  de- 
ceive, mislead,  and  ruin — that  spirituous  liquors  is  one  of  these 
stratagems  which  leads  to  many  others  of  a  most  destructive 
character,  and  that  the  man  by  whose  instrumentality  any  of 
these  offences  comes,  in  spite  of  all  his  apologies,  is  subject  to 
the  woes  denounced  in  this  text.  The  sentence  of  the  law  is, 
"  an  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth."  In  order  to 
estimate  the  severity  of  any  man's  punishment,  we  need  only 
sum  up  the  amount  of  injury  he  has  done.  And  what  has 
the  offender  done  ?  The  man  whom  he  ofiended,  it  may  be, 
was  the  husband  of  an  aiTectionate  confiding  wife,  the  parent 
of  dependent  children,  or  ihe  child  of  doating  parents  whose 
life  was  bound  up  in  his — he  was  a  useful  member  of  the 
church  of  God,  a  distinguished  citizen,  a  kind  friend — he  had 
a  cultivated  mind,  a  wide  circle  of  influence,  and  important 
officer  both  in  church  and  biatq.  These  nnportant  trusts  arc 
all  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  these  fond  affections 
arc  rrucified,-  thcoc  bi  ighf  li^pco  arc  all  buried  ui  Oic  drunk- 


32 

ard's  grave  !  And  for  all  this  evil  will  the  ofi'eiider  together 
with  the  person  whom  he  has  oflended  be  punished  in  the  day 
of  his  visitation. 

But  a  single  offence  is  not  all  the  harm  he  does.  As  a 
small  pebble  thrown  upon  the  waters  of  a  smooth  lake  will 
agitate  its  whole  surface,  so  one  offender  with  his  distillery 
or  grog-shop,  or  with  his  doors  thrown  open  for  the  dan- 
cing party  or  ball,  frequently  corrupts  a  whole  neighborhood 
or  village  ; — as  the  smallest  atom  of  matter  has  an  attractive 
influence  upon  the  largest  and  most  distant  spheres,  so  the 
smallest  sinner's  influence  is  often  felt  by  the  greatest  men, 
and  that  too  at  an  astonishing  distance  of  time  and  place. 
Even  a  small  offender  will  mislead  and  ruin  many  innocent 
souls.  But  there  are  tall  oaks  of  the  forest  which  carry  down 
all  the  surrounding  undergrowth  in  their  fall — primary  planets 
accompanied  by  a  host  of  satellites — large  streams  which  in- 
undate whole  districts  of  country ;  and  there  are  great  offen- 
ders whose  influence  is  sufficient  to  corrupt  whole  cities,  or 
to  involve  whole  nations  and  empires  in  bloodshed  and  ruin. 
For  all  these  probable  evils — for  all  the^<  filthiness  and  foolish 
talking,"  for  all  the  blasphemies,  thefts,  robberies,  and  mur- 
ders occasioned  by  oflences,  and  for  all  the  consequences  to 
grow  out  of  these  things  in  ages  yet  unborn,  is  the  offender  res- 
ponsible. Loaded  with  the  guilt  of  these  sins,  and  with  the  pon- 
derous weight  of  his  own,  will  he  stand  agast  at  the  judg- 
ment bar  to  receive  the  woes  denounced  in  our  text.  And 
0,  if  one  single  transgression  in  the  beginning  was  sufficient 
to  ruin  our  innocent  world — if  the  guilt  of  a  single  sin  would 
damn  a  soul  in  hell  forevcr^ — who  can  tell  the  eternal  weight 
of  misery  due  to  so  many  offences  ?  Yet  must  it  be  poured 
without  mixture,  as  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  God's  wrath  into 
one  defenceless  soul,  "  the  smoke  of  whose  torment  shall  as- 
cend up  forever  and  ever  !"  Friends,  you  have  heard  faith- 
ful descriptions  of  starving  Ireland — of  the  horrid  battle-field — 
but  these  are  not  woe  eternal.  You  have  set  in  the  sick  room 
and  witnessed  the  dying  agonies  of  some  guilty  sinner,  and 
you  have  followed  him  to  the  grave,  and  there  heard  the 
wailing^i  of  his  family  relations  -  but  all  this  misery  wat;  not 


iiell.  When  God  lets  loose  "'the  thuudev  of  his  power  "  and 
causes  all  his  wrath  to  beat  upon  the  soul,  a  single  sigh  from 
that  tormented  spirit  would  be  to  you  a  wider,  deeper  hell 
than  you  have  ever  yet  imagined.  May  God  save  you  from 
such  a  fate  ! 

These,  hearer,  may  sound  to  you  like  terrible  sayings ; 
and  such  indeed  they  are  to  the  impenitent,  but  to  you  they 
are  words  of  mercy.  If  it  is  in  your  power  to  do  so  much 
injury,  it  is  certainly  your  privilege  to  do  an  equal  amount  of 
good ;  and  the  blessings  on  mount  Gerizim  are  more  than 
equal  to  the  curses  on  mount  Ebal. — Instead  of  offending 
these  "little  ones,"  it  is  your  privilege  to  do  them  much 
good  ; — instead  of  '^destroying  him  for  whom  Christ  died,"  it 
Js  your  privilege  to  increase  the  number  of  "God's  elect;" 
and  then,  instead  of  a  curse  for  turning  christians  out  of  the 
way,  you  may  inherit  a  blessing  for  every  "  cup  of  cold  wa- 
ter "  which  you  give  them.  To  this  end  the  words  of  our 
text  were  first  spoken  in  the  ears  of  Christ's  (Tring  disciples, 
and  to  this  end  they  are  given  to  you  to-day.  They  teach  you 
how  he  loves  his  children — yea  they  teach  you  how  he  loves 
the  sinner.  This  barrier  of  woe  raised  here  on  the  shores  of 
time  between  the  sons  of  mer  and  the  gulph  of  ruin  is  one 
of  the  strongest  demonstrations  of  Christ's  love  to  them.  It  is 
full  proof  that  he  would  not  have  them  lost.  In  order  to  save 
them  from  this  fate  he  apprises  them  of  their  danger  while 
yet  there  is  time  to  shun  it — acquaints  them  with  their  privi- 
leges while  they  have  opportunity  to  improve  them.  Believe 
it,  dear  friend,  these  are  not  the  words  of  an  enemy ;  an  ene- 
my would  never  have  spoken  thus.  But  Christ  loves  you  ; 
he  feels  for  you ;  he  tells  you  what  is  best.  Hear  him.  He 
says,  "If  thy  hand  or  thy  foot  offend  thee,  cut  them  off  and 
cast  them  from  thee" — if  that  trade  or  profession  which  is  as 
necessary  to  your  support  as  a  hand  or  foot,  or  that  friend 
who  is  as  dear  to  you  as  an  eye,  offend  you,  cause  you  to 
neglect  duties,  make  you  less  spiritual,  lead  you  into  sin — 
do  not  think  of  retaining  it,  or  parting  with  it  little  by  little — 
but  cut  it  off  at  once,  and  then  cast  it  from  you,  out  of  your 
house,  out  of  your  sighi  ,  and  especially  out  of  your  mind. 


The  operaiiou  liere  <^iijoii)eLl  is  .seveifi— u  is  liaid  indeed 
lor  one  to  cut  off  his  own  hand  or  toot,  or  to  pluck  out  his 
eye,  harder  still  to  give  up  his  bosona  sins — but  the  motives 
are  powerful :  "  It  is  better  for  thee  to  enter  into  life  halt  or 
maimed,"  as  thou  may  est  surely  do  by  taking  this  advice, 
"rather  than,  having  two  hands  or  two  feet,  to  be  cast  into 
everlasting  fire,"  which  will  be  the  inevitable  consequence  of 
neglecting  my  words. — It  is  better  for  you  without  health, 
friends,  fortune  or  fame  to  enter  into  life  eternal  where  all 
these  losses  will  be  compensated  a  thousand  fold,  rather  than, 
having  all  that  earth  can  give,  to  be  cast  into  everlasting  fire, 
for  the  woes  of  which  there  can  be  no  compensation — It  is 
better  to  part  with  a  few  sinful  pleasures  now,  than  it  will 
be  to  part  with  friends  and  with  heaven  forever  hereafter — 
It  is  better  to  endure  the  short  pains  of  a  seperation  from  sin- 
ful associates  now,  than  to  have  them  converted  into  everlas- 
ting tormentors. 

These,  dear  hearer,  are  the  admonitions  of  one  who  loves 
you  better  than  father,  mother,  husband,  or  wife.  They  are 
bedewed  with  his  tears  and  steeped  in  his  blood.  His  un- 
worthy servant  would  approach  you  in  the  same  spirit,  and 
with  the  best  wishes  for  your  eternal  welfare,  he.  would  be- 
seech you  in  the  name  of  a  bleeding  Saviour — by  all  the  mo- 
tives to  be  drawn  from  time  and  eternity — for  the  good  of 
immortal  spirits  and  for  the  welfare  of  your  own — by  all  these 
considerations  would  he  beseech  you  to  hear  these  instruc- 
tions of  our  common  Lord  and  Master.  Amen. 


